4858(II)_What does it mean to embrace a missionary call

Fruits of the first Salesian Missionary Month (Australia-Pacific)

September 22, 2018

By Ms. Lauren Hichabaa and Cl. Sinapati Ioane, SDB

Melbourne, Australia, 14 Septmeber 2018 -- We have come to the end of our Australia Pacific Province Salesian Missions Month. The missionary animation delegate has been sending weekly messagges to all Salesians in order to reflect individually and as a community on what it means to truly embrace our missionary call.

The call of each of us to be missionary is not complicated….in fact it is really quite simple…it is a return to the very heart of the Salesian vocation. To love young people and to ensure that they know they are loved. If we truly embrace these words of Don Bosco then we will be truly missionary. This simple action has the power to transform and what could be more missionary than to transform the life of a young person?

To celebrate this week of our missions month I would encourage you all to listen to the Audio Divina released yesterday (https://www.salesians.org.au/podcast). Fr. Frank Moloney has focused on ‘A missionary journey into Gentile lands’ – perfect for our focus on our missionary call.

Another opportunity: the videos for the celebration of 2018 Salesian Missions Day have finally been released also in English on Youtube. I invite you have a look at the wonderful work being done in throughout Asia, ‘Whispering the Gospel’, in vocational and technical centres.

What a wonderful missionary history we have in the AUL Province.

Our missionary history and present is so multidimensional! There are those that have come to Australia from far-away lands such as Italy, the Netherlands, Malta, India, Myanmar, Vietnam and many more. Australians have travelled to the Pacific and those from the Pacific have come to Australia! And those that have left us to mission abroad.

How blessed we are.

In this third week of Salesian Missions Month let us remember the missionaries ad gentes throughout the Australia-Pacific Province – James Adayadiel, Germano Baiguini, Frank Bertagnolli, John Briffa, Oreste Cantamessa, Elio Capra, George Carlos, Peter Carroll, Nic Castelyns, Bob Curmi, Stephen Dubovsky, Joe Ellul, Chris Ford, Lionel Henry, Michael Keogh, Gerrit Kraan, Jim Hoe, Michael Ledda, Tony Moester, John Murphy, Peter Minh Nguyen, Peter Vu Nguyen, Joe Pham, Dat Phung, Aleki Piula, Silvio Quaranta, Stan Rossato, Frank Sammut, Duc Tran, Mathew Vadakkevettuvazhiyil, Peter Varengo, Joseph Vu, Jan Walenciej, Julian Cavarzan, Ernie De Gaspari, Tony DeGroot, Brian Diamond, Luigi Pavanello and Carmelo Sacco.

Thanks be to God for the bravery and sacrifice of all those listed to leave their homes for new frontiers. The richness and diversity of our Province is truly beautiful.

At the end of the Salesian Missions Months we share one local community experience from Suva, Fiji Islands written by Cl. Sinapati Ioane:

"While the people of Fiji were busy celebrating their Constitution Day (Sept 7) public holiday, the Don Bosco Formation community together with the Altar server boys and girls from the St. John Bosco Parish were on a mission, cleaning the road side from our Parish Church at Makoi towards the new parish land site. One of the most memorable and unforgettable missions that we have ever done since our presence here amongst the people of Fiji, helping to keep our local area clean. We spent two hours on the road side picking up rubbish, with the aim to keep our environment nice and clean. It was fun, enjoyable, lesson learnt and challenging as well. But we were humbled with the support of the parents who were there to help us. There were heart-filled moments indeed that day seeing these young children doing something very extraordinary for their own community at their young age.




The month of September the Archbishop of Suva launched a new season for the diocese which is called: “A Season of Creation: Care for our common home; Laudato Si.” So, our cleaning up is our way of supporting the Archdiocese in caring for our environment. We were so thrilled with the enthusiasm of the kids in carrying out such a mission for their own environment.




We planned to end our cleaning at our site aiming to have some fun games for the kids, to celebrate the Constitution day and at the same time celebrating the One Year Anniversary since we begin levelling the land for our new parish. Thus it was a triple celebration for us during that day. Indeed, everyone enjoyed the day and we see the spirit of our founder in the celebration when everyone contributed to the joy of the day, sharing happiness with these young ones in our fun games.




As a Salesian Congregation and Salesian Family we dedicate this month for all our Salesians MISSIONARIES around the world. Offering petitions and prayers for them as they dedicate their lives for the mission. In our community we have two great missionary’s Fr. James Khaw Hoe and Br. Stan Rossato, they have dedicated their lives as missionaries serving our Salesians family here in Fiji. As our provincial Fr William says, 'we are all missionaries in our own way of serving the young in our Salesian mission.'

So, in honouring all our missionaries, especially those who dedicate their life missioning here in the Pacific, as mentioned above like Fr. Jim and Br. Stan amongst the many, we conclude the month for the mission with a Eucharist celebrated by Fr. Jim himself the well-known missionary here in the Pacific. He strongly emphasized the importance of the Cross in our lives and how the cross helps us in our mission. He continued by saying that our mission is to bring the victorious Christ of the Cross to the people especially the youth and the young. He reminded those that had come to celebrate the occasion with us that everyone was involved in the mission of bringing the victorious Christ to all and was not the work on religious only. He reminded all that each day we would be challenged to carry our cross. Our Eucharistic celebration was followed by a mini celebration with our invited guests those whom we call our Salesian families and friends here in Don Bosco Formation House on 14th September 2018."